Sacramento Kings 'new era' off to slow start after wrapping up 8th straight losing season

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – This season was supposed to be the start of a "new era" for the Sacramento Kings, as owner Vivek Ranadive proclaimed over and over again when he took over last year.

Instead, it felt an awful lot like the old era.

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Sacramento (28-54) stumbled to the same record as a year ago to wrap up an eighth straight losing season. DeMarcus Cousins drew two suspensions and 16 technical fouls, even after signing a four-year, $62 million contract extension before training camp and promising to change his behavior. And first-year coach Michael Malone never showed signs of turning the Kings into a defensive-minded team as he had hoped, though the constant roster changes didn't help.